Punishment: Chapter 1
by Lincoln Gage
Summary: What happens when Frank meets a child with a past darker than his own. A different take on Netflix's "The Punisher" Season 2.


A quite night with good music is all he wanted. That was a lie... a quite night with good music and Beth. That's all he could think about while driving 2 hours out of the depths of hell they called a State. So when he got back and walked in the bar and saw her face, he nearly lost it. All he could do was grin and smile like a schoolboy.

Frank: It's a really good band (Smiling)

She knew he was lying, but hell, did she care? Nope. She was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. She placed the beer on the bar and leaned back against the liquor shelf and smiled at him.

A short-hooded figure appeared at the bar. Almost out of the sky as neither one of them seen them walking to the bar. The person pulled off the hood and wrote on a small yellow pad.

"May I have a glass of water, please, thank you"

Beth and Frank both looked at this person who clearly looked like a minor.

Beth: Sweetheart how'd you get in here, this is no place a child.

The kid wrote on the paper "Road trip with my dad, he's in the bathroom"

Beth motion to the bouncer. He took one look at the kid and put his thumb up to confirm.

Beth: Alright, you want ice honey?

The kid shook her head yes. Frank watched the exchanged. He then looked down and noticed the blood on her sleeve and knuckles.

Frank: (points to the sleeve) you should have your dad look at that.

The kid looks down at her hand, looked back at Frank and pulls the sleeve down to cover what he already saw.

Frank raised his brow and stared at her. Beth handed her the water and she chugged it. They both looked at her hands, they were filthy. She mouthed "Thank you" and walked toward the bathroom.

Frank: She seemed...  
Beth: A bit off right?  
Frank: Yea...hey imma check and see if her father is in the bathroom. I'll be right back.  
Beth: stay out of trouble

Frank gets up and proceeds to the bathroom, weaving in and out of the various crowds singing along with the band. He went into the men's bathroom. There was one guy, washing his hands.

Frank: Hey, did you come in here in with a kid?

Man: (looks at Frank weird) a child? In a bar?

Frank: yea a kid about this high, a little girl, pointed at you, said she was with you.

Man: sounds like a runaway, I don't have any kids sir.

Frank: That's what I thought, thanks.

Man: No prob

Frank walks out of the men's room and heads toward the women's room. He listens to the door to see if he could hear anyone. He opens the door, all the stalls are empty. He looks up and the window is open. He shakes his head and walks back to the bar.

Beth: Any luck?  
Frank: No, man she pointed to said he was alone.  
Beth: maybe he was the wrong guy. I can't imagine any child that age running away, she looks about 10.  
Frank: Yea, but she's too young to be alone.

Frank drinks his beer and engages in light conversation with Beth. About 10 minutes pass by and suddenly you hear what sounds like fireworks being let off. The bouncer steps outside and runs back in with a look of terror and locks the door to the bar. The crowd starts to rush toward the windows as the bouncer runs to the phone by the bar.

Beth: What happened?

Bouncer: That kid (grabs the phone and dials 911)

Frank: (stands up) what about her?

Bouncer: Hello, Hi, I'm calling from Lola's Roadhouse, there's a bunch of people shooting at a kid.

Frank hears what he says, Beth does too. Without even thinking, Beth throws Frank a shotgun from under the bar that is kept especially for assholes and proceeds toward the door.

Bouncer: Pete don't go out there (follows him)

Frank: Lock the door when I leave and don't open it until the cops come.

The bouncer does just that. Frank slowly walks out. The sight is to behold. The ground has at least 6 people on it. There are 4 more shooting to his left. The kid, the little girl with the bloody sleeve is hiding behind a small Toyota to his right, loading a gun. Before he could register what to do, the little girl, runs toward the men and shoots one straight in the face. Clean shot, he holds up the shotgun and shoots at the man furthest from her. She notices the help, relived as she may be, he's just another innocent bystander and she knows they have noticed him. The third guy points his gun at Frank. Frank shoots, blows a hole in the man's chest. The little girl runs toward Frank, the second man pointing his gun at the girl as she runs to him. Frank doesn't notice the fifth standing person in the back of the pick up that they arrived in, he's aiming for Frank. Frank shoots the man aiming for the running little girl, she jumps, the man in the pickup shoots at Frank, bullet rips through the little girl's shoulder. Frank shoots at the man in the pick up truck, misses. The little girl shoots back from the floor, grazes him in the leg. The man hits the top of the truck to signal them to speed off as Frank shoots at the truck. The familiar sound of police sirens in the back.

Frank watches the truck drive off, the little girl proceeds to walk toward the Toyota and grabs her hiking bag and a jansport bookbag. Frank walks towards her and takes his keys out of his pocket, clicking his van door open.

Frank: You're coming with me.

He grabs the strap of her hiking bag and pushes her toward the passenger side of the van. She gets in. He drives through the back part of the bar, while the cops come in the front. He gets a text notification from Beth.

_Beth: Are you okay?_

_Frank: Yea, I'll call you soon._

Frank looks over at the little girl. She is grimacing in pain and breathing shallow.

Frank: Kid, you okay?

She grabs a piece of cloth from her bag and presses it on her shoulder. Even though its dark, the street lights illuminate the blood.

Frank: You got hit?

She shakes her head yes. She grabs duct tape from the bag, takes off her coat and begins to tape the cloth to her shoulder. She sighs and leans her head back, looking out of the passenger window. All he wanted to do was enjoy his beer, spend the night with Beth and possibly, just maybe, see Rex. How did all this shit happen in the span of an hour? Just an asshole who couldn't stay out of trouble.

Frank: We gotta get you to a hospital.

The little girl puts both her hands up towards Frank and mouths in a panic "NO HOSPITALS" and leans back in the seat.

They drove about 45 minutes, the sun was starting to come up, he noticed a sign for a motel and pulled in.

Frank: Imma go and get us a room, you stay in the van, yeah?

The kid shook her head yes. He got out and walked to the counter. 10 minutes passed and he comes back with a key, some water bottles and motel note pads. He drives around the back and pulls up in front of room 66. He gets out, grabs his own bag. The little girl jumps out of the van. She looks around at the parking lot. Only 3 cars parked besides theirs. None tinted, none of them black. Frank notices her paranoia as he holds the door open.

Frank: Hey, come on.

He gestured for her to get in the room. She walks in and stands by the first bed. He locks the door, chains it and closes the blinds. He puts his bag on the bed. The little girl grabs the chair from the desk and shoves it under the doorknob. All he could think of was how much this kid had been through in the last few hours, he didn't even want to fathom what she had been through before blasting the face off of a man in the parking lot.

Frank: Come, let me look at that shoulder.

The little girl didn't move. She just stood there, holding her back pack

Frank: Look, I know you're scared. But you can get…

The little girl grabs the notepad he placed on the bed and writes

"Shower first?"

Frank: (huffs) Jesus Christ…sure. You have clothes to change into?

The little girl nods and walks to the second bed. She drops her backpack on the floor, next to her hiking bag. She grabs a small bunch of clothes from the hiking bag and tosses it on the bed. She takes off her coat and throws it on top of her backpack, she takes off the sweatshirt she had underneath revealing a bullet proof vest and guns shoved in her pants waist band. Frank catches a glimpse while trying to text Beth. The little girl takes 4 guns off of her waist and places them on the tv stand. She unstraps the vest and attempts to pull it off put her shoulder wasn't having it. Frank stands up and helps her pull it off. She mouths "Thank you", grabs the clothes off the bed and proceeds to head to the bathroom, her white shirt is covered in old and new blood. She closes the door, leaving a speechless Frank holding her vest. He holds it up, there are various bullet holes in the fabric. Either she got this from a dead man or she has been through some shit.

Once in the bathroom, the little girl leans on the bathroom sink and looks in the mirror. She begins to wash her hands. Takes out her contact from her right eye to reveal a blue eye. She strips and cuts on the shower. The water was like Christmas. For the last 2 weeks she had been taking bird baths in gas station bathrooms. She just stood there watching the dirt and blood run down the drain. She washed her hair as best as she could considering there was still a bullet in her shoulder. Considering how tired she was, the pain didn't seem like much. Getting her sports bra on was a hassle but she needed to be somewhat ready if they should have to make a fast exit so a tanktop, sweat pants, and socks was very called for. She shoved all the dirty clothes in extra garbage bags stored under the sink and tied it up to throw them out in the morning.

She emerged from the bathroom looking less for wear than she went in looking but was still bleeding through a white towel. The first thing Frank noticed was her eye. She came in with two brown eyes but now one was blue. He figured he'd ask in the morning, right now it was all about getting the bullet out of her arm. He grabbed the first aid kit and bottle of alcohol he had stored in his bag.

Frank: go back to the bathroom, the lightening is better.

They walked back to the bathroom and the little girl hoped up on the sink. Frank placed the first aid kit and the bottle of liquor on the toilet. He looked at her shoulder, the bullet was deep. He took the bottle and poured it on the tweezers to clean them.

Frank: This is going to hurt…a lot. If it hurts too much, let me know.

The little girl shook her head and mouthed 'I know". Frank looked at her and begin to insert the tweezer. He moved it around to get a hold of the bullet. Every so often he would look at her. He knew she couldn't talk for whatever reason but he wanted to see if there was signs of pain on her face. She just stared blankly behind him, at the wall. No pain, just emptiness. He finally got a hold of the bullet and begin to pull it out. At this point, there should be some tears, something, that shit hurts, but there was still nothing. Just a shell of a child. He sowed the wound and looked at his work. He wasn't a doctor but he'd learn a thing or two from Curtis and from being in the field.

Frank: Finished, you did good kid.

He raised his hand to give her a high five, she smiled, the first time he had seen some emotion from her and she gleefully high fived him and jumped down from the bathroom counter as he gathered the first aid kit and walked back to the room. She grabbed her guns on the tv stand and tossed them on the floor between the beds, she grabbed her backpack and sat down.

Frank: You should get some sleep.

She just didn't even listen to him. She grabbed her gun cleaning kit from inside her bag and begin to clean her guns. It finally begin to hit him that this wasn't some ordinary kid, this kid knew too much. He laid down in the bed on his back and peaked over at her as she took her gun apart and cleaned them and noted something in a little book.

Frank: Hey, kid, you got a name?

The little girl looked up and held up the little black notebook she had been writing in. He read the engravement on the front.

Frank: Ares? Like the God of War?

She shook her head yes.

Frank: I'm Pete.

She looked up at him with look and a smirk. She wrote in the book, showing him.

Ares: "You don't look like a Pete"

There was an awkward silence.

Frank: Well you don't look like the God of War either

Ares silently laughed. Frank smirked as he rolled over. Within 5 minutes, he was snoring. Ares took this as a chance to finally get a bit of sleep herself as she put her guns back in her bag and shut off the lights. She knew the next few hours would be the only peace she would get.

5 hours had passed and as Ares was awaken by the shutting of the door. Frank had left. She jumped up and saw that he was walking towards the main road, leaving his van. She sighed in relief. She walked to the bathroom and grabbed one of the spare tooth brushes and washed up a bit. She took the time to put on her boots, a shirt and pack up whatever she had out. After 30 minutes, she heard the jingling of the doorknob, then the inserting of a key, the door opened, she was met with Frank's face but he was met with a gun.

Frank: Hey! Relax, put that down.

She put the gun on the tv stand and sat down on the bed.

Frank: I got us some breakfast, and I got you this.

He tossed a small white board on the bed with a set of markers and a small eraser. She smiled and busted open the packages.

Ares: "THANK YOU"

Frank smiled at her and tossed a water bottle on the bed next to her sandwich. He grabbed the chair and sat down at the foot of her bed facing her.

Frank: I know you can't talk, but I just wanna ask you some questions, no lies, yeah?

Ares shook her head yes.

Frank: Why are those people coming after you?

Ares: "I don't wanna do bad things for them anymore"

Frank: Who are they? What do they make you do?

Ares: "Traffickers"

Frank: What um type of trafficking?

Ares: "We both know what type of trafficking"

Frank could feel the anger rushing over him. He knew, he was just hoping it was something different.

Frank: How old are you?

Ares: "13"

Frank: Im guessing that story about you and your dad doing a road trip was lie huh?

Ares: "yea"

Frank: How did you end up with those traffickers, you ran away from home?

Ares: "No, I was kidnapped"

Frank leans back in the chair and chews a bit of his sandwich.

Frank: That means that your family is looking or you. Why didn't you go to the police?

Ares: "My family is dead"

The look of irritation and concern washed over Frank's face.

Frank: So you were kidnapped, and those people coming after you last night, they killed your family?

Ares shakes her head yes.

Frank: I almost don't want to ask, but do you know why? Why they kidnapped you and killed your family?

Ares begins writing.

Ares: "Idk, but they murdered them and took me. That was 4 years ago"

Frank: How long have you been running?

Ares: "About 2 weeks"

Ares erases what she wrote and begins to frantically write.

Ares: "I didn't mean to get anyone involved, I just wanted some water"

Frank: No, no none of this is your fault

She erases the board and begins writing again.

Ares: "Can I just stay here until the nighttime I'll be gone before you know it"

Frank: We both know you can',t do that. You're gonna stick with me right? Imma keep you safe.

Those words aren't words Ares has heard in long time. Her safety was her own concern, and hers alone. But she knew, she would have better chance at survival if she stuck with Pete.

Frank: So, I see you have 4 handguns, you wouldn't happen to have bullets for those?

Ares shook her head yes and grabbed her hiker bag. She then proceeded to pull out a small arsenal of weapons. Frank could only mutter "Jesus Christ". He's seen some shit, but this was starting to feel like a dream. No child should have to live their life on the run, this scared and this armed. Along with the pulling of the guns she pulled ammo for just about all of them and placed Ziploc bags of bullets above the corresponding gun. After was done, she crossed her arms and admired her matching skills. Frank look at her and sighed.

Frank: This it? Or are you gonna pull a tank out next?

Ares puts up her finger and walks to her backpack and pulls out 2 kabars and tosses one to Frank.

Frank: Where'd you get this?

He was well versed with this knife, he had one of his own in boot.

Ares picked up her whiteboard

Ares: "My grandpa"

Frank: This is one of my favorites.

Ares: "Papas too"

They smiled at each other. Frank loaded all the weapons and put back in the bag what he didn't need.

Frank: Its gonna get a bit loud in here for awhile but try to rest that shoulder as much as you can, you're gonna need it.

Frank grabs a sledgehammer and opens the door to the closet and knocks on the wall to find a thin spot. Ares leans on the wall and stares at him, he can feel her looking and looks over his shoulders. Ares pulls the remote from behind her back and turns the tv up loud. Frank smiles and begins whaling away on the wall.

Song for this Chapter: Kings of Leon "Milk"


End file.
